The firstfruits offering was a sheaf of early ripened grain that served as a sample of the larger harvest to come, picturing Christ's resurrection as the firstfruits of a greater harvest of resurrected believers.
In Leviticus 23, Israel was told to bring a sheaf of the first ripened grain to the priest as a wave offering. This was not a single stalk but many stems gathered from throughout the field, all serving as a sample of the much larger crop that would follow. Les Feldick explains that this Old Testament harvest picture is what Paul draws on in 1 Corinthians 15 when he calls Christ the firstfruits of those who have died — He was first, but not the only one, just as the sheaf was made up of many stems.
Leviticus 23:9-10 — This is the foundational passage where God instructs Israel to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of their harvest to the priest.
In Leviticus 23, the Lord spoke to Moses concerning the seven feast days of Israel. The third feast was the Feast of Firstfruits, which came at the time of the barley harvest. The Lord said, "When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and ye shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest." This offering was an agricultural practice for an agrarian people, requiring them to gather an early sample of their ripened grain and bring it to the priest. The Scripture itself shows that firstfruits was a harvest ritual tied to the land Israel would receive, and it involved bringing a sheaf of the earliest ripened barley. The word "sheaf" indicates a bundle of many stems, not just one stalk of grain. The offering was a wave offering presented to the Lord as the beginning of the harvest.
Les Feldick teaches that the firstfruits offering in Leviticus 23 is the key to understanding Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 15:20 that Christ is "the firstfruits of them that slept." He explains that Israel was primarily an agricultural nation, and their feast days all pointed to New Testament truths. Just as the farmer would watch for the earliest ripened grain in a field of barley and gather many of those early stems into a sheaf to bring to the priest, so the firstfruits was a sampling of the entire crop that was soon to follow. Les emphasizes the plural nature of the word "firstfruits." The sheaf was made up of more than one stem — it was many stems brought together. Had Christ come alone in resurrection, He would have been the firstfruit, but the Scripture says He is the firstfruits (plural). Les teaches that the Jewish saints who were resurrected right after Christ comprise the rest of the "sheaf," thereby completing the plural word firstfruits. The firstfruits offering therefore pictures an initial sample of a greater resurrection harvest that is still to come, just as the sheaf pictured the full harvest of grain that would follow within days.
Israel was an agricultural people living off the land, so God used farming language they understood. When the barley harvest began — the first crop to ripen in Palestine — the people would look for the earliest ripened stems of grain in their fields. These were gathered into a sheaf, or bundle, and brought to the priest as a wave offering. The sheaf was not a single stalk but many stems, all taken as a sampling of the much larger harvest that was about to be reaped.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christ has become the firstfruits of those who have died. Les teaches that the only way to understand this language is to go back to the Old Testament harvest system. Christ was definitely the first to be resurrected — never had it happened before. But just as the firstfruits sheaf contained many stems, so Christ was not to remain alone. The Jewish saints who were resurrected right after Christ came forth to complete that sheaf of firstfruits, making the word plural as it appears in the Greek.
Les explains that the Jewish harvest had three aspects: first, they took a sampling of the early ripening heads of grain as the firstfruits; then they went in for the main harvest; and finally, they left the corners and gleanings for the poor. This harvest process is what Paul uses as an illustration of the resurrections that are coming — the firstfruits being the beginning of the first resurrection, with the main harvest of all believers to follow.
Israel's Agrarian Setting and the Seven Feasts
Les explains that Israel was an agricultural people and that the seven feast days, including firstfruits, all point to New Testament truths.
The Sheaf of Many Stems
Les teaches that the firstfruits sheaf was made up of many stems of grain, not just one, and that the Jewish saints resurrected with Christ complete that plural sheaf.
Christ the Firstfruits
Les shows that Paul's language in 1 Corinthians 15 can only be understood by going back to Leviticus 23 and the Feast of Firstfruits.
The Barley Harvest and the Sheaf
Les explains that firstfruits came at the barley harvest — the first crop of the year — and that the people were to bring a sheaf of the harvest to the priest.
The Feast of Firstfruits at Barley Harvest
Les notes that the Feast of Firstfruits came at the time of barley harvest, which was the small grain that ripened first in the spring.
First Mention of Firstfruits
Les identifies Leviticus 23 as the first mention of the word firstfruits and reads the instruction to bring a sheaf when Israel came into the land.
The Sheaf of Firstfruits Applied to Resurrection
Les draws the analogy of the 40-acre field with the early ripened stems gathered into a sheaf, emphasizing the plural 'S' of firstfruits and applying it to resurrected believers.
The Three Aspects of Harvest as Resurrection Picture
Les explains the three aspects of the Jewish harvest — firstfruits sampling, main harvest, and gleanings for the poor — as an illustration of the resurrections to come.
Leviticus 23:9-10: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and ye shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
This is the direct instruction establishing the firstfruits offering as a sheaf brought to the priest from the earliest harvest.
Leviticus 23:11: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
This shows that the sheaf was a wave offering presented to the Lord as an accepted sample of the harvest.
1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Paul applies the Old Testament firstfruits concept directly to Christ as the first to rise from the dead, with more to follow.
The firstfruits offering was a sheaf of many early ripened stems of grain gathered from throughout the field. Les Feldick explains that the plural nature of the sheaf is significant because it pictures Christ and the Jewish saints who were resurrected with Him, together comprising the plural word "firstfruits" in 1 Corinthians 15.
The Feast of Firstfruits came at the time of the barley harvest, which was the first crop that Israel harvested in Palestine, shortly after Passover. It was the third of the seven feast days of Jehovah, following Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Just as the sheaf of firstfruits was a sample of the much larger harvest to come, Christ as the firstfruits of resurrection is the guarantee that many more will be raised. Les teaches that the Jewish saints resurrected right after Christ comprised the sheaf, and the main harvest of all believers is still to come.
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